COVID-19 has changed the way in which students take AP tests. This year, students took a digital version of their test through the college board app, which they could either download on a personal device or open on their Chromebooks. The tests were then downloaded to their devices, and students could take the test at home during their testing time. 

“The setup before the test was easy, but I had some problems,” said Kashvi Patel, a sophomore who took the AP world history test. “The app made me redo the practice test twice even though I had already finished it, which wasted my time. The process to install the app and the login was easy though.”

Online testing has brought many changes to the test itself. Patel believes that the test in person and online both has its pros and cons. 

“I think that online and in person both were equally hard and easy,” Patel said. “In person I could have gone back to questions, but online I had to answer the question and move on. On the other hand, for the online test I did not have to answer the Long Essay Question and had it replaced with two Short answers instead. With the test being online, I saved a lot of time since I got to type instead of using a pencil.”

Patel does believe that she could have done some things differently during her online test. 

“If I got to do something differently I would have just not focused one one question too much and moved on,” Patel said. “In the beginning of the multiple choice, I spent too long on some questions and lost my pace and had to rush other questions.”

Overall, Patel believes that the online tests were necessary and made sense given the circumstances this year. 

“I thought that the online format was nice,” Patel said. “I liked how College Board provided an alternative to going to school with many other students to keep everyone safe.”